


all i wanna do, all i wanna be

by piggy09



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-24
Updated: 2016-08-24
Packaged: 2018-08-10 17:07:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7853737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/piggy09/pseuds/piggy09
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Opal bends down a little and pats Garnet’s head; her hand sinks into Garnet’s hair, and she laughs. Her voice is a clarinet, her voice is a bird calling somewhere in the distance. She has Amethyst’s joy and Pearl’s grace and Garnet loves her the way she loves the two of them: whole-heartedly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	all i wanna do, all i wanna be

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PoeticallyIrritating](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PoeticallyIrritating/gifts).



“Oh,” says Opal, the very first second she Is, and Garnet presses her lips together and adjusts her glasses to keep from jumping up and down and laughing. _This is the first other fusion we’ve talked to in centuries_ , whispers a voice in her that has Sapphire’s caution and Ruby’s nerves. _What if she doesn’t think we’re_ cool?

(That second part is all Ruby. Sapphire would have made a pun about being cool.)

(Which would have been, by the way, very cool. Ice cold.)

“Hello,” says Garnet, and Opal’s head jerks up. She almost falls over, wobbling on her sudden tall legs and frankly enormous mane. Then she laughs.

“We’re big!” she says. “I can reach the top shelf now, I know that’s where Pearl has been – where I’ve – hm.” She stops. One of her hands taps her chin contemplatively; the other one scratches at her belly. She is still very much two Gems, but that’s alright: Garnet remembers that too. I – we – and the beautiful warmth of the word _us_.

“That’s right,” Garnet says. “You’re very big.”

Opal bends down a little and pats Garnet’s head; her hand sinks into Garnet’s hair, and she laughs. Her voice is a clarinet, her voice is a bird calling somewhere in the distance. She has Amethyst’s joy and Pearl’s grace and Garnet loves her the way she loves the two of them: whole-heartedly.

“Amethyst is going to hold this over you forever, you know,” Opal says, voice warm and pleased.

“I don’t think she will,” Garnet says seriously. “She’ll have to hold it under me. Because she’s so short.”

Opal tilts her head back and laughs, whole throat, whole heart. Hair flies everywhere. Garnet has to bat it out of her face; there’s a momentary panic when she gets some in her mouth and has to figure out how to spit it out without doing something weird. Thankfully, out of the two of them, Opal has embarrassment and panic on lockdown.

“Oh no!” she says. “How do I – how does she deal with all this _hair_ , it’s _everywhere_.” She tries waving it out of her face herself. All of her arms bump into each other, waving madly about. She gets a little white and wobbly around the edges, until Garnet puts a hand on her arm. (She has to stretch on tiptoe, and it’s Opal’s _lower_ arm, but it’s the thought that counts.)

“Concentrate,” she says softly. “Don’t worry so much about the details – this is the first time you’ve formed, you’re still finding a balance between your two parts. But you’re here, Opal! You’re alive, out in the world. You’re experiencing it for the very first time. Hair and all.”

“Mostly hair,” Opal says wryly, but she pulls it out of her face and over her shoulders, does a few test poses. Up on one pointed toe. Down in a squat, low to the ground. “Hm,” she says. “Hmmm.”

“Do you want to try summoning your weapon?” Garnet says.

“Oh!” Opal says delightedly. “ _Yes_.” She does an excited spin _en pointe_ and then gets tangled in her own hair, ends up laughing. “Oh, we’re – I’m going to have to pull this back, aren’t I,” she says.

“You might,” Garnet says. “You’ll get used to this form, figure out what’s more comfortable for you.” _And what looks the most awesome_ , hisses a voice in the back of her head that is _definitely_ Ruby-esque.

With practiced ease Opal pulls out a whip from one gem and a spear from the other. Then she tries to spin the spear at the same time she flicks the whip, and then she’s all tangled again. The spear goes flying into the distance, shearing off the edge of Garnet’s hair as it goes.

“Oops,” says Opal.

“It’s alright,” Garnet says. “Was thinking of going for more of a square haircut anyways. The curls are getting old.” She adjusts her glasses. _It’s not a_ total _falsehood_ , thinks Sapphire. Ruby radiates smugness about her own haircut.

In the meantime Opal summons another spear, twirls it experimentally. She’s already getting better, more conscious of all of her extra limbs. Garnet folds her arms over her chest and watches her – watches the weapons become beams of light and combine. Then Opal’s holding a bow and arrow, face lit up with delight. “Garnet!” she shrieks. “Garnet, I have a _bow and arrow!_ ” She holds it up. Then she shakes it a couple times, in case Garnet didn’t get the point.

“ _Very_ cool,” says Garnet. She’s thinking about sparring – probably best not, she’s more of a heavy hitter and Opal looks best for long-distance acrobatics. Hm. It’ll be good to have a range fighter in the Gems, though; Opal will just need to test her limits, first. Find out who she is.

Opal pulls back the bowstring, squints, sticks a tongue out of the corner of her mouth.

_She’s a nerd_ , whispers Ruby.

_We already knew she was a nerd_ , Sapphire chastises. We’re _nerds._

Opal can’t hear Garnet’s internal conversation – and she probably has her own going, Amethyst cheering Pearl on, Pearl guiding Amethyst along. Garnet is so full of love and joy for her, for them, for her again that a tear comes to one of her eyes. She goes ahead and wipes it away. Opal isn’t looking, anyways; she’s pulling her bow back towards the sky, brow furrowed. An arrow appears and she fires, straight up, up into the cloudless blue.

It bursts, like a firework going off. The whole sky fills with light.

**Author's Note:**

> Lyrics obviously from "Giant Woman."
> 
> Thanks for reading! Please kudos + comment if you enjoyed! :)


End file.
